Wimbledon won't budge on World Cup final clash

09 July 2018 - 16:00
By AFP

The Wimbledon logo is surrounded by ivy on the seventh day of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 9, 2018.
Image:
Oli SCARFF / AFP

Wimbledon chiefs insisted again Monday that the men's final will start at its traditional time despite it clashing with a potential England World Cup triumph.

The All England Club has come under increasing pressure to rethink its 2pm (1300GMT) start time for Sunday's men's singles final with the football showpiece in Moscow kicking off at 4pm in the UK (1500GMT).

Should England defeat Croatia in Wednesday's semi-final then the national team will feature in a World Cup final for the first time since lifting the trophy in 1966.

"It is purely our decision to stay at 2pm. It will stay this year, it will stay next year," said All England Club chief executive Richard Lewis.